


tender (is the night)

by guanlin



Category: MAGNUM (Korea Band), TREASURE (Korea Band), YG Treasure Box (TV)
Genre: A little bit of angst, Fluff, M/M, haru and jeongwoo create the grandest fuck up in vampire history, haruto bites jeongwoo but its like...bruh...its not sexy AT ALL they are babies, they're still idols the only thing different is haru being a bloodsucker hehe, vampire!AU, yoonbin and jihoon are the vampire dads everyone loves and needs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 14:04:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17850920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guanlin/pseuds/guanlin
Summary: the truth is everywhere. in yoonbin’s knowing look, in jeongwoo’s hand in his, in jihoon’s eyes on yoonbin, softening under his touch. (the truth of it is this: a vampire is built for war, not affection. but the truth is also this: what is love but a battlefield?)alternatively: haruto and jeongwoo accidentally establish an eternal vampire bond.





	tender (is the night)

**Author's Note:**

> a little background: haruto and yoonbin are vampires! they both used to be part of a 'pack' but left to pursue idol-dom and so yoonbin takes care of him like the babie he is. the whole team is aware of them being vampires and i guess in this universe it's pretty normalised idk so no one really gives one lol? fic takes place some time after ygtb but before debut and haru's bday so i guess sometime around next month? title and the little italic bits at the start of each scene are from the novel tender is the night by f. scott fitzgerald which is a WONDERFUL book. anyway, enjoy! 
> 
> P.S in this au, the process of 'feeding' or whatever for haru and jeongwoo is NOT sexual at all and is literally just like i'm hungry hehe :P

_i. somewhere inside of me, there will always be the person i am tonight._

“haru, you okay?” haruto hears jeongwoo ask but it’s suddenly like he’s been plunged underwater and his vision is turning warped and blurry in front of his eyes. he tries to reply, but his mouth seems like its moving too slow to formulate a response so he tries to go to him, instead but ends up just stumbling against him. jeongwoo is forced backwards and then realises he can’t support both his and haruto’s combined weight so drops them both unceremoniously to the floor. haruto is sprawled on his side, half on jeongwoo’s lap and half between his legs, barely able to keep his eyes open. jeongwoo’s murmuring his name, hands fluttering over his back and sides. 

“haru? haruto? can you hear me?”

haruto’s hearing is slowly starting to fade back in and he manages to groan in response, turning over onto his back so he’s looking up at the younger. 

“what happened?” jeongwoo asks when he’s sure haruto’s conscious enough to reply. 

“i…” the boy begins, clearing his throat before continuing, “i ran out of blood…a while ago.” 

jeongwoo processes it and then promptly smacks haruto gently on the shoulder. 

“so you haven’t been eating?” he hisses. 

“i…no, i guess not.”

he can feel another wave of dizziness coming on, and when jeongwoo moves his head back to reveal the light above them beaming in his face in full force, he squeezes his eyes tightly shut and curls up onto his side, hands over his face. 

“haru!” jeongwoo exclaims, startled, “what can i do? tell me what to do!” 

haruto can’t even reply, just shakes his head. 

“yoon…bin,” he manages to force out and jeongwoo immediately jumps into action, forcing a hand underneath his neck and another one underneath the crook of his legs. the younger boy counts to three and then attempts to heave haruto off of the floor and into his arms bridal style but haruto is taller _and_ heavier than him and they both know it’s a lost cause. 

 

“can you walk?” jeongwoo asks quietly. haruto doesn’t even have the energy to answer him, just lays there, eyes closed, breath shallow. 

“i can’t leave you…” jeongwoo says, “i can call yoonbin-hyung but it might be too late.” 

there’s some kind of resolve in his voice that haruto can’t place towards the end of the sentence but he’s too out of it to find out what it is. 

“haru…” the younger begins, “how much does it hurt…getting fed from?”  
panic spikes in his stomach. 

“no,” he groans, “jeongwoo, no. i can’t…let you do that.” 

his breathings getting quicker now, the dizziness taking hold. grabbing onto jeongwoo’s wrist was a huge mistake because now he’s all haruto can smell. it’s not like haruto hasn’t noticed jeongwoo’s scent before - like fresh paper and summer and the underlying tang of his blood but it’s _overwhelming_ now he’s half starved and dying. he can already feel his fangs coming down. 

“jeongwoo…leave. get yoonbin.”

infuriatingly, jeongwoo just moves closer, and haruto cowers back, keeps his eyes squeezed shut because he’s scared when he opens them they’ll be glowing red. 

“haruto,” he says, squeezing at the shoulder closest to him. haruto has his fists clenched tight, whole body tense at the restraint of having a human so close nearby, “drink from me.” 

“i can’t,” he replies faintly, “there’s…no one else. i don’t want to hurt you.”

even as he says it, his resolve is fading thin, and he’s already got his nose pressed against jeongwoo’s fingers. like this, he can practically hear the blood rushing through his veins.

“just make sure it doesn’t then,” the other boy replies, even though his eyes are wide in half fear, half curiosity. haruto hasn’t opened his eyes yet, but he can already feel some strength returning to his body at having jeongwoo so close.

 

he gets a hand underneath him, trying and failing a couple times to get his body up and off of the floor. he keeps a tight grip on jeongwoo’s hand, pulling it over his shoulder to nose at the vein on his wrist. jeongwoo’s palms are sweating. 

“i’m gonna…” haruto tries to get out, “i’m gonna glamour you, okay? it’s like…my eyes will glow and you’re not gonna feel any pain, or anything, you’re just gonna wanna be…close. okay?” 

jeongwoo nods jerkily as haruto looks over his wrist and right through him and he’s right, his eyes do glow red. it's not as startling as he’d expected, more comforting, like a fire crackling in an open grate. as suddenly as it came, all of the fear and the excitement is drained right out of him, replaced by something like comfort. there’s a force between them, drawing jeongwoo forward and he’s never been drunk before, but this strange, euphoric, out of body feeling, is something like what he thinks it’ll be. there’s still lit embers in haruto’s eyes when he sees him glance down at his neck, then back at his eyes again but they’re more pretty than they are terrifying. 

“feel okay?” he asks gently and jeongwoo nods, already scooting closer. he smooths a hand over the hair at the back of haruto’s neck before baring his neck sideways, displaying the smooth tendon of tan skin. the older boy hesitates, and jeongwoo pats him in comfort. 

“feels good,” he murmurs, “it’s fine.” 

“sure?”

“yeah,” he practically sighs out, “just don’t drain me dry.” 

he feels haruto move a little closer, his breath against his skin. it doesn’t hurt when he bites, just feels like a kind of weird pressure that isn’t entirely unenjoyable. The positions kind of hurting jeongwoo’s neck, so he leans his head against the side of haruto’s temple, holding onto him a little tighter. it feels like forever and not long at all until haruto’s pulling away, hands on jeongwoo’s shoulders to keep him steady. 

 

he feels a little lightheaded, and the moment haruto’s eyes stop glowing, there’s a dull ache in the space where haruto’s fangs had sunk in. haruto’s mouth is disconcertingly red and, even though jeongwoo scrambles to put space between them, he can’t stop staring. haruto is rather impressively managing to avoid looking at him despite having just drank his blood and the whole entire situation is so completely _odd_ that jeongwoo bursts out laughing. it only takes a second for haruto to start laughing, too, full of energy now that he’s fed. they both laugh until their stomachs hurt, backs against the wall. they quiet down, and jeongwoo lays his head down on haruto’s shoulder. 

“i’m kinda dizzy, dude.” 

this shocks haruto into action. 

“shit…maybe i took too much?” he says, sitting up to peer anxiously at jeongwoo, who admittedly looks a little pale.

“no, it’s probably just adjusting to the blood loss, it’s okay,” the younger says, but haruto still suggests they go home, and keeps an arm wrapped tight around jeongwoo’s waist all the way back to the dorms. 

 

(later, when jeongwoo’s about to go to sleep, the strip of light under his door gradually gets wider as haruto pads in, hair a tousled mess, sleep shirt down to his knees. 

“i’m worried about you,” the older tells him, in explanation even though jeongwoo doesn’t think he needs an excuse. he lifts one knee up onto jeongwoo’s mattress, waiting for his permission. he’s too tired to say no and there’s something foreign in him that wants haruto as close as possible so he just lifts the cover up in invitation. when haruto slides in, he tucks his head into jeongwoo’s neck, forehead pressed right up against the tender marks. the ache dulls and jeongwoo sleeps better than he has in a long time.) 

 

 

_ii.he was thankful to have an existence at all, if only as a reflection in his wet eyes._

 

haruto’s sitting squished up next to jeongwoo at the breakfast table when yoonbin storms in, ever the picture of morning glory, and physically pulls haruto out of his seat. jihoon is hovering behind him, obviously trying to minimise the damage but simultaneously keep his distance. haruto can feel the anger coming off of him in waves and can do nothing but let himself be dragged helplessly along until he’s in yoonbin and jihoon’s room and yoonbin’s slamming the door behind him. 

“you _marked_ him?” yoonbin shouts, hands grabbing roughly at haruto’s collar to pull him up to his height before haruto even has time to turn around. jihoon doesn’t move to help him.

“hyung-“ 

“i could smell it on him from here, haru!” he seethes, “what the _fuck_ were you thinking?” 

“ _you_ marked jihoon-hyung!” haruto, somewhat childishly, defends himself. yoonbin seems to falter a little, mouth opening and then closing again. 

“we’re four years older than you,” he finally says, “you’re still a _child_ , you have no idea what bonding even means!” 

haruto goes to answer but there’s a knock at the door and jeongwoo is poking his head around the corner. jihoon turns around from where he’s watching them, beckoning for jeongwoo to enter. there’s something in haruto, the possessive vampire side, that relaxes completely at the sight of his messy hair and doe eyes. 

 

“is everything okay?” jeongwoo asks, eyes widening cutely when he sees yoonbin with his hands at haruto’s throat. the older boy let’s him go almost immediately, instead pulling away to stalk up to jeongwoo. jihoon bristles a little, obviously wanting to calm yoonbin down whilst simultaneously believing haruto deserves to be reprimanded.

“did he bite you yesterday?” 

jeongwoo has the audacity to blush, and if haruto wasn’t too busy wondering why yoonbin was asking when he knows the answer, he would’ve found it cute. the younger nods, bashful.

“how’d you know?” he murmurs, tugging at the turtleneck he’d been wearing to try hide the puncture marks. 

“you smell like him,” yoonbin murmurs, “even more than you usually do. did you...did you give him permission to bite you? Did you _invite_ him?” 

Jeongwoo cocks an interested eyebrow and jihoon smiles a little pityingly at haruto, who’s sitting on the bed, stunned into silence.

“Yeah,” jeongwoo says slowly, “I guess?”

Yoonbin draws back from Jeongwoo with a frustrated sigh, turning back to haruto. jeongwoo flinches at the speed of it and haruto has to remind himself that jihoon and jeongwoo aren’t vampires like them, they’re not used to all this.

“did you tell him?” he asks.

“tell me what?” jeongwoo pipes in, turning to look at haruto. there’s something like dread in his stomach as he sees anger flare in yoonbin’s eyes again. this time, jihoon does come forward and wrap a hand around yoonbin’s wrist.

“you didn’t even fuckin’ tell him?”

“he was basically passing out when i told him to bite me!” jeongwoo defends him, even though haruto doesn’t think he will once he finds out what yoonbin’s talking about, “he could barely keep his eyes open let alone communicate properly.” 

yoonbin slows down.

“you were...you were what? what happened?” 

haruto looks down at his feet sheepishly.

“i ran out of blood last week but we’ve been so busy i just-“ 

“just thought the best thing to do was starve? haru, you _know_ that i have more than enough blood for the lot of us. you could’ve avoided this whole thing.” 

“i know, hyung,” he says, suddenly realising how stupid he’s been, “i’m sorry.” 

“talk to him,” yoonbin says, “right now. you’re not leaving until he knows.” 

he’s scared to look up at jeongwoo, scared to tell him, scared for everything he’s built their friendship on to change. 

“know what, haru?” jeongwoo murmurs, moving almost instinctually closer. 

he swallows, throat dry. 

“let’s sit down,” he says. 

 

 

they perch gingerly on jihoon’s bed and jeongwoo settles with his body turned towards him, the picture of trust. yoonbin stands in front of them, leather jacket and dark eyes making him look awfully intimidating, even if the hand he’s got locked around jihoon’s ruins the effect a little.

“for vampires,” haruto begins, staring at the bridge of jeongwoo’s nose instead of his eyes, “being invited to do something, especially by a human, is really...special.” 

jeongwoo blinks, and then nods when he realises haruto is waiting for him to acknowledge him. 

“since the only thing vampires need to survive is blood, if a human offers a vampire their blood, that’s the highest level of trust and honour anyone can bestow on us. it’s like...divine shit.” 

jihoon lets out a snort. 

“when a human invites a vampire to drink from them and the vampire agrees, something we call a _bond_ is formed. it basically means that...in terms of vampires...you’re like my partner.” 

there’s a small silence.

“you’re his mate, jeongwoo,” yoonbin supplies, deadpan and jeongwoo almost chokes on his own saliva. 

“i’m his _what_?” 

to be honest, haruto’s pretty weirded out too. that was an awful way to word things. 

“not,” he begins, then sighs, rubs a hand over his face, “not like that jeongwoo-yah, shut up. that’s just what we call it. basically when you let him bite you, you were allowing him to mark you as his property, and in return, haruto is loyal to only you now.” 

jeongwoo’s mouth opens, then closes, then opens again. they’ve naturally moved closer together to press their knees against one another and the places where they’re touching are suddenly burning.

“what do you mean? his property?” 

if haruto wasn’t a vampire, he’d blush.

“you’re not really _his_ obviously, he doesn’t own you. in fact, it’s nothing that you’ll be able to feel, just us vampires. i told you you smell like him, right? that’s so other vampires know you’ve already bonded to one of them, and not to try anything with you. the bond just...heightens your awareness of each other, and tells other vamps to back off. haruto knows when other vampires are near you, and will most likely feel the urge to protect you from them and you, to a degree, will feel a sense of protectiveness towards haruto, too.” 

jeongwoo nods, eyes wide. 

“so you can feel it now?” 

yoonbin shrugs. 

“not really, i mean, i can smell him on you, obviously but because you guys were so close before it’s not that much stronger but if i were to, say, get really close to you, then we’d _all_ feel it.” 

 

 

haruto nods but jeongwoo’s still looking up at yoonbin expectantly so he rolls his eyes and leans forward to grab jeongwoo’s hand, pulling him from the bed and to his side instead. he wraps a hand around jeongwoo’s waist, pulls him closer and immediately, haruto feels his fangs piercing his lower lip and there’s a huge, ridiculous rush of possessiveness pulsing through him, blurring his vision until he all but snarls at yoonbin, metaphorical hackles rising. it surprises even haruto, the intensity of it. he’s not a violent person, never has been, but the quiet red of warning in yoonbin’s eyes, wise far beyond haruto’s years, makes him clench his fists up, raise his chin in childish defiance. yoonbin doesn’t even bat an eyelid, just squares his shoulders up a little, eyes steady on him and haruto was stupid to think this was his first rodeo - the older boy has his own bond, of course, he knows exactly how to rile a vampire up. jeongwoo looks a little shocked, though, entirely human and entirely new to the intricacies of vampire relationships. haruto takes a deep breath, willing his eyes to go back to brown and calmly steps forward. jeongwoo steps into him almost immediately, as if on instinct, letting him intertwine their fingers and pull him back to his side instead.

“oh,” the younger boy says, hand still tight in haruto’s grip. 

“i didn’t expect it to be so…” haruto begins, but doesn’t finish. 

“yeah,” yoonbin responds, for lack of anything else to say, “you’re gonna have to learn to control that though, haru. you can’t lose it like that every time someone else touches jeongwoo.” 

the both of them blush, jumping apart at the sudden realisation that they’re standing awfully close because even though they’ve been thrown into absolute limbo, they’re still awkward fourteen year olds at heart.

“sorry, hyung,” he says sheepishly, “and sorry, woo, for _that_.”

“nah, it’s alright. kinda scary, though. better watch out, yoonbin hyung.”

yoonbin chuckles, ruffling jeongwoo’s hair in a fond display of brotherly affection. haruto feels a little twinge that turns his smile into a grimace and jihoon has the audacity to laugh out loud, head thrown back. 

“you’re a whole lot worse than binnie was,” he says offhandedly, but yoonbin bats him on the shoulder. 

“just because there were no other vamps around back then! you’re making me sound like i don’t care about you,” he says, but he’s smiling. 

“what?” jihoon exclaims so loudly it makes both haruto and jeongwoo wince, “nah, babe, you had your moments.”

“ _babe_ ,” jeongwoo murmurs, shaking his head as if his hyungs being open with their relationship is so completely unbelievable. 

“shut up, _woo_ ,” jihoon bites back, and jeongwoo scowls but does nothing to defend either himself or haruto. 

 

 

yoonbin, who had been watching amusedly, suddenly straightens up, letting his hand fall from where it was settled on jihoon’s shoulder. 

“there’s one more thing,” he says and haruto feels nervous all over again, “i said haruto is only loyal to you - that means you’re the only human haru can drink from now.” 

“ever?” jeongwoo asks, turning to haruto.

“that’s what i meant...when i said there’s no one else. i cant drink from anyone else now. the bond holds me to you and you only.” 

“so you have to feed from me everyday? no offence, dude, but i don’t really wanna be full of holes...”

“what? no? i’ll just drink blood from the supplies we have for the most part but…once or twice a month, maybe.” 

jeongwoo’s still looking at him, mouth open. 

“do you get it, jeongwoo?” yoonbin presses, “he needs you there to survive, and you need him there to protect you. it’s a _forever thing_.”

there’s something like condemnation in yoonbin’s voice that haruto latches onto, heart aching at the reminder that bonding is as hard for vampires as it is for humans, especially one like yoonbin, who had been so used to being alone. when he and jihoon had first bonded, around six months ago, yoonbin had initially hated himself for it, had worn the guilt around like a second skin. survival is instinctual, and vampire-hood is surviving _together_ or not at all - very few actually have bonds, and those that do are outcasts from the pack. yoonbin had previously been adamant that he would never bond, was too proud to ever rely on another human for survival but, like everything else in yoonbin’s life, that had changed when he met jihoon.

 

“forever?” jeongwoo asks, voice full of wonder. haruto can’t even look at him, the blood of jeongwoo’s future stark red on his hands. 

“i’m sorry, woo,” haruto forces out, “i wouldn’t have done it if i was in my right mind.” 

“no,” jeongwoo says dismissively, shaking his head, “it’s not your fault. i practically forced you to drink from me.” 

“but…this is forever,” haruto murmurs, “our whole lives thrown away because i was an idiot.” 

a look of hurt flashes across jeongwoo’s face but as soon as it comes, it’s gone, fleeting. 

“they’re not thrown away, haru. don’t think like that. i don’t mind being your human blood bag.”

he flashes haruto a smile, a little lost but him all the same and haruto suddenly feels emotion rising in his throat, something a little sharper than sentiment. 

“and,” jeongwoo continues, “for what it’s worth, you’re the only person i’d ever let suck my blood.”

the _i’m glad it’s you_ goes unsaid but haruto gets it. 

 

 

_iii. everybody is so tender that they have to be handled with gloves._

 

the next morning, haruto and yoonbin are both peering at the fridge, trying to work out how much blood they have left before they have to restock whilst jihoon and jeongwoo sit at the table, taking it in turns to grab handfuls of cereal from the packet, not even bothering with milk. jihoon has fresh bite marks just above his collar bone, one of yoonbin’s shirts slipping off of one shoulder to expose them until yoonbin stands up and absentmindedly fixes it back into place. 

“hyung,” jeongwoo murmurs whilst haruto still has his face stuck in the veg drawer, “how do you make the bite marks stop hurting?” 

jihoon looks mildly alarmed, and yoonbin just raises an eyebrow, pulling the cereal box 

out of jihoon’s reach. 

“they’re hurting you?” the older asks, then frowns, “they shouldn’t do.” 

haruto looks up now, eyeing jeongwoo with worry. jeongwoo nods, eyebrows furrowed. 

“lemme see,” jihoon says, leaning over and hooking a finger into the collar of jeongwoo’s sweater and pulling it downwards to reveal the bite marks. haruto stands up, moving to stand behind jeongwoo. he and yoonbin look at each other, yoonbin’s gaze as calculating as it always is with him, waiting to catch him out.

“shit, haru,” jihoon murmurs.

“what?” haruto asks, voice panicky as he leans over to gaze at the bite marks, “what is it?” 

“i think you stuck your fangs in too deep?” 

he’s right, maybe. the marks are wider than jihoon’s and _deeper_ , considering jeongwoo’s are days old and jihoon’s ten hours at best. yoonbin has caught interest now, and leans over to peer at jeongwoo’s neck. 

“yeah,” yoonbin confirms, looking up at haruto for a second before glancing back down, “you don’t need to dig em’ in so much.” 

haruto nods a little jerkily, pulling jeongwoo’s sweater back up to cover up the marks. 

“so there’s no way to make it stop hurting?” 

yoonbin and jihoon exchange a look. 

“he - he can glamour you,” yoonbin starts slowly, “but…i’m sure you know the effects of that.”

jeongwoo blinks slowly. once, twice and then turns back to look up at haruto. 

“no,” the older boy says immediately, “you’ll get all weird if i glamour you.”

“but it _hurts_ ,” jeongwoo whines petulantly and haruto sighs, long. they don’t have any schedules today, so he can probably cope with jeongwoo hanging off of him all day. however, yoonbin gives him a warning look, one that says _can you handle it?_ Glamour doesn’t just dull pain, it makes human scent a lot stronger, a lot harder to resist.

“fine,” haruto says, “but let me shower first.” 

jeongwoo smiles up at him, smug and haruto feels so ridiculously stupid it’s criminal. 

(although, jeongwoo has always been hard to resist, and haruto’s been doing pretty well so far).

 

jihoon turns around to face yoonbin.

“don’t you think we should show them?” he murmurs up at the younger.

“ _show_ them?” yoonbin asks incredulously.

“it’s not supposed to _hurt,_ binnie.”

“i’m not going to suck your blood in front of them, jihoon-ah,” he replies, so deadpan it makes jihoon duck his head in something akin to embarrassment. 

“they need to learn!” 

“it’s…it’s private!”

jihoon’s face softens. their whole entire relationship has always been private, the only reason haruto even knew they were together is because yoonbin told him they were bonded. he’s barely seen them hold hands, and he’s only seen them kiss once, and that was when jaehyuk had been holding jihoon so close to him that yoonbin had almost pounced at him until the older had noticed his eyes glowing red and had leant over to kiss yoonbin gently, quickly, but it had been enough. jaehyuk had clung to junghwan instead, after that and yoonbin had gone immediately pliant, like a wolf momentarily tamed. haruto had been reminded for the first time that if yoonbin had been born a month later, he would’ve been calling jihoon hyung. haruto understands, though, why yoonbin does it. they’re not built to be so vulnerable. vulnerability is weakness, and weaknesses can be exploited. yoonbin has grown up knowing that, knows exactly how much of himself to reveal to the people he cares about without putting himself in danger. the only exception to this is jihoon, who came crashing into his life and broke down every single boundary yoonbin had carefully constructed around his heart. haruto likes them together, but at the end of the day, both he and yoonbin know that him having jihoon around is a liability, the same way that they both know that haruto having jeongwoo around is a liability - neither of them are in a position to do anything about it, helpless under the reality of their situation. the truth of it is this: bonds cannot be formed if there isn’t a foundation of love first, and love is the only thing in life that, no matter how hard you try, cannot be outran. it’s like an elastic band, you can stretch it over so much distance, and it’ll still come snapping back like a smack to the wrist. the truth is everywhere. in yoonbin’s knowing look, in jeongwoo’s hand in his, in jihoon’s eyes on yoonbin, softening under his touch. ( _the truth of it is this: a vampire is built for war, not affection. the truth of it is this: what is love but a battlefield?_ )

 

“okay,” the shorter murmurs, “haru, next time you do it, you don’t need to dig your teeth in so much.” 

“alright,” haruto agrees easily, eager to stop talking about it. jeongwoo shifts next to him and it’s kind of weird talking about drinking your best friend’s blood with someone other than said best friend.

“and be gentler,” yoonbin adds on, “i know you were practically starving last time but you only need to bite once.” 

“is that all?” jeongwoo asks impatiently, because junghwan’s calling his name from the lounge, asking him to play games. 

“wait, hyung,” haruto says, directing his gaze at yoonbin, “how do you know when it’s enough? jeongwoo got dizzy last time…i’m worried if i take too much he’ll get sick.” 

“oh shit, i don’t know. i usually do it over intervals but i never drink more than half a pint. if you do it all at once your blood cells don’t have time to regenerate. no wonder you were dizzy jeongwoo-yah.”

“god, we’re really bad at this, huh,” jeongwoo exclaims laughingly and jihoon reaches over to pat both of their hands. 

“you’ll get the hang of it,” he says, “you’ve got forever, after all.”

( _can you handle it?_ )

 

 

 

_iv. you’re the only boy I’ve seen for a long time that actually did look like something blooming_

 

jeongwoo pounces on haruto as soon as he steps out of the bathroom, hair still dripping onto his t-shirt. 

“haru,” he whines, prolonging the u to make it sound even more adorable. he’s chewing bubble gum, haruto can smell it masking his usual scent. 

haruto’s feeling a little concerned about glamouring jeongwoo when he can barely resist scooping him up into his arms as is, let alone with the added layer of attraction. he just smiles down at him gently, letting jeongwoo lean up and towel his hair dry. the younger boy has his tongue stuck between his teeth in concentration, and there’s a moment, suspended in time, that haruto thinks about what it would be like to tell jeongwoo everything, the truth about them, about the bond and everything huge and mundane in his life until jeongwoo has one hundred percent of him, for better or for worse. but just like everything in life, the moment is fleeting and when jeongwoo shifts back on his heels,the tide moves in and washes everything away. they are fourteen and haruto feels hollow.

“are you sure you can’t just deal with it?” haruto murmurs, trailing after jeongwoo into their room, watching as he drags his socked feet across the linoleum floors. 

jeongwoo giggles, flopping down onto haruto’s mattress. 

“why?” he teases, “worried you can’t resist me?”  
“shut up,” haruto gives back easily, shoving jeongwoo over till he can settle on the bed, too. he likes it best like this, mindless banter, shoulders pressed together. like this, he can almost forget. they’re quiet for a while, syncing their breathing together, staring up at the ceiling as if it holds all the answers to the universe. 

“I want to get used to it,” jeongwoo says quietly, angel soft, eyes cast upwards, “being close to you. _wanting_ to be close to you.” 

 

haruto doesn’t dare move, scared to break the fragile atmosphere that has settled over them. 

“glamour won’t help you, woo,” he says, “it’ll only make you want to be closer.”

jeongwoo flops back against the pillow.

“is it supposed to feel like this?” he groans, rubbing a hand over his face. he looks significantly younger than haruto feels, hair fanned around him like a fluffy halo. 

“like what?” 

“like…like something’s wrong when we’re not together. it makes me anxious, being away from you.”

 

 

_i like you_ , haruto thinks. there’s something like fear on jeongwoo’s face when he turns back to look at him and when they lock eyes, something between them changes, so tiny that if haruto weren’t so hyperaware of everything jeongwoo does, he wouldn’t even notice. 

“i don’t know,” haruto answers honestly, and the sound of his own voice is jarring,“maybe. something like that. we can ask the hyungs.”

jeongwoo turns his face away, profile lit up by the morning sun streaming in through the window. 

_i like you_ , haruto thinks, _and_ _not just because you let me suck your blood when i was dying._

they stay like that, jeongwoo slumped against haruto’s pillow, haruto watching him. 

“forever’s a real long time, huh,” jeongwoo murmurs, opening his eyes again. he doesn’t seem fazed that haruto is already watching him, just blows a hot pink bubble up at the ceiling and lets it deflate slowly. 

“do you mind?” haruto asks, letting his elbow collapse under him, falling backwards. 

jeongwoo seems to think about it and haruto finds himself holding his breath. their pinky fingers are touching but neither of them reach out.

“nah,” the younger says, finally, “not like i was planning on spending the rest of my life with anyone else, anyway.”

 

they fall silent again, for so long that haruto’s half convinced that jeongwoo’s fallen asleep. 

“it hurts less when you’re here,” jeongwoo murmurs, “the marks.”

“do you still want me to glamour you?” 

jeongwoo props himself up so he can look down at haruto, eyes analysing. 

“i know you don’t want to,” is the reply he gets, neither a yes nor a no. 

“glamour is powerful shit, jeongwoo-yah. i don’t know what would happen if i did it without the intent of biting you.” 

jeongwoo nods, placated at haruto taking advantage of their small age difference. 

“alright then,” he says, “they don’t hurt that bad right now anyway.” 

“alright.” 

haruto rolls over, presses his forehead against jeongwoo’s neck like he did a couple of nights ago. jeongwoo sighs, shifting to accommodate the new weight. 

“alright,” the younger says again. 

( _haruto dreams of him and jeongwoo, lying side by side, his head pressed up against jeongwoo’s neck. the weight of jeongwoo’s hand in his feels so real that he can almost convince himself it is.)_

 

_v. always - i knew your troubles and how brave you were about them._

 

the other side of the bed is empty when he wakes up and haruto feels a sudden pang of anxiety, the comfort he had felt lying next to jeongwoo stripped back like a blanket pulled to expose the cold. he sits up slowly, jeongwoo’s phone is on the bedside table and when haruto presses his hand against the mattress next to him, it’s still warm. still, the anxiety doesn’t loosen up, like a hand at his throat, barely there, just enough pressure to notice. he blinks himself awake fully, sliding his slippers on and shuffling out of the bedroom. haruto can see junghwan and yedam in their bedroom, both of them crowded over yedam’s desktop, clicking around on an editing program. he can hear jeongwoo talking to someone in the kitchen, the clattering of cutlery as someone does the dishes. he wanders over aimlessly, feeling a little better now he knows jeongwoo hasn’t just upped and left. 

“well, how do you feel?” it’s jihoon’s voice, and when haruto pokes his head round the corner, he sees jihoon leaning over the sink, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. jeongwoo sits on the worktop, kicking his feet against the cupboard door. 

“i don’t know,” jeongwoo replies, “fine, normal, i guess. like i did before but…just on another level.”

there’s another clatter as jihoon places a chopstick down onto the draining board. 

“like what?” 

jeongwoo scrunches his face up cutely, momentarily stopping kicking. 

“i feel kinda anxious, i guess, when he’s not around, when he’s with other people. things just feel _wrong_ when we’re not together.” 

“so you felt like that before?” 

“maybe. yes. he’s my best friend, of course i want him to be around.” 

jihoon grabs a tea towel, patting his hands dry. 

“listen, i haven’t been in this situation before. me and yoonbin were together when we bonded, so i felt those things anyway but…if you’re saying you felt like that _before_ haruto bit you. maybe it’s not the bond, maybe it’s something else.”

 

haruto’s breath catches, and he’s about to burst in when there’s a hand on his shoulder, so sudden it makes him jump. yoonbin stands behind him, in sweats and a t-shirt, eyes swollen from sleep. haruto has no idea how long he’s been there. the older boy doesn’t say anything, just grabs him by the wrist and drags him back into his room. yoonbin’s never been one for big shows of affection, or even much one for words, so haruto doesn’t really know what to do when the older boy pulls him forward into his arms, hands tight around his shoulders. haruto doesn’t hug back, and he knows he doesn’t need to, knows yoonbin is doing this for himself as much as he is for haruto. 

“hyung,” haruto murmurs, and then, suddenly, he’s three years younger, five inches smaller, freshly turned and alone. he hasn’t cried for a long time, it’s not a very vampire thing to do, but there’s something about the whole situation that knocks him off his feet, shaking something awful and he’s crying before his brain can even catch up with itself. 

“I feel so _guilty_ ,” he chokes out, “I’ve ruined everything.”

he feels rather than hears yoonbin swallow. 

“nothing is ruined,” he says, tough determination colouring the edges of his voice. if yoonbin were a colour, haruto thinks he’d be golden, “absolutely nothing.” 

“i want him so badly, hyung,” haruto mutters and yoonbin pulls him back in, tender despite the fire in his eyes and places a hand on each cheek. 

“jeongwoo loves you so much,” he says and then pulls him in again, pressing his cheek against the crown of haruto’s head, “so much.”

 

the door swings open.

“binnie do you wanna - oh.” 

jihoon stands in the doorway, silhouette backlit by the hallway lights. haruto pulls away, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his jumper. jihoon seems momentarily stunned at the sight of haruto in tears, eyes flicking from him to yoonbin then back again. he seems to consider something, and then steps into the room, shutting the door carefully behind him. 

“are you alright, haru?” he asks, voice uncharacteristically soft. the gentleness makes haruto want to cry all over again, ducking his head as if he’s been caught doing something he shouldn’t have been. he nods, just barely and jihoon crosses the room to yoonbin’s side. haruto watches them both and then he thinks _i want that_ and the intensity of it coats the inside of his ribcage, holding him together. 

“do you want jeongwoo?” jihoon murmurs, raising his hands a little just to lower them again, as if he isn’t quite sure what to do. 

“yes,” he says, wincing at the rawness of his voice. yoonbin gives him a once over but doesn’t say anything. 

“jeongwoo!” jihoon shouts, “get in here!” 

it takes a minute but jeongwoo kicks the door open with a socked foot, grumbling something under his breath. it must look strange, the three of them standing a couple metres apart, haruto’s eyes wet with tears but the moment jeongwoo sees him, his face morphs into one of panic. 

“what’s wrong?” he says, immediately crossing the room to him.

haruto just shakes his head. he can feel a lump of emotion forming in the back of his throat again, even though he thought he was all cried out. jeongwoo’s eyes widen as his bottom lip starts to wobble and then he’s drawing him into his arms, hands rubbing circles into his back. 

 

haruto pillows his head on jeongwoo’s shoulder, clinging onto his sweater. his own shoulders shake, face scrunching up in that childish way it does when he cries. 

“what’s wrong?” jeongwoo whispers again, and there’s pain, where his hearts thumping against his ribcage, trying to beat it’s way out of his chest and into jeongwoo’s unsuspecting palms. he presses his hands against jeongwoo’s shoulder blades, hard enough to convince himself that once upon a time they were wings. 

“I’m so sorry,” he sobs, “I’m so, so sorry.”

jeongwoo closes his eyes, let’s haruto cry. 

“say you forgive me,” haruto presses into the plane of jeongwoo’s shoulder. 

jeongwoo makes to protest but he must be able to tell that haruto needs this, because he just sighs against haruto’s ear. 

“i forgive you.”

“alright,” haruto says, and then jeongwoo laughs despite everything and haruto basks in the sunlight of it.

“alright.”

 

(“they’re too young,” yoonbin murmurs as he wraps his arms tight around jihoon’s waist, pulling him closer. jihoon sighs contentedly. 

“maybe,” he agrees, absentmindedly threading their fingers together, “but there’s no reversing the bond, binnie.”

“i know,” the younger replies, “i just wish it didn’t have to come to that.”

jihoon turns around so they’re facing each other. 

“didn’t you see this coming?” he asks, “them bonding?”

“i suppose. i suppose i did, yeah but not now. not for a long time. and i thought they’d be…y’know _together_. i thought they’d know what they were getting themselves into.” 

“they love each other, isn’t that enough?”

“it’s killing him, ji. haruto _really_ loves him.”

“and you think jeongwoo would have let him feed from him if he didn’t love him?” 

“like _that_ , though? like us? haruto liked him before, but at least then there was the friendship boundary. they don’t have that any more, there’s nothing left between them but their feelings.”

yoonbin stays quiet for a while, and when he speaks again his voice is soft, small.

“haruto’s like my brother. i don’t wanna see him like this.”

jihoon lifts his hands out from under the covers, and places them on yoonbin’s cheeks instead, smile as soft and gentle as summer rain. he leans forward and brushes his lips against yoonbin’s forehead.

“ha yoonbin,” he whispers against his skin,“you are so much kinder than people give you credit for.”)

 

 

_vi. hard to sit here and be close to you, and not kiss you_

 

it’s two weeks later and there’s a storm coming. 

“you need to feed,” yoonbin tells him in the van on the way back from a schedule. yedam’s got his head on his shoulder, and jeongwoo is sitting up ramrod straight on his other side, one of his headphones in, eyes straight ahead. he blinks at the mention of feeding, though.yedam makes a sleepy noise, sitting up just to let his head flop down onto doyoung’s shoulder instead.

“do i?” he replies, “it’s only been a couple weeks.”

“you look awful,” yoonbin says bluntly, “you’ve been working too hard.” 

“it’s three in the morning, everyone looks awful.” 

“you’ve been looking _consistently_ awful,” jihoon supplies, the same time yoonbin says “don’t argue, haru, just do as i say.”

haruto wants to bite back but the fact that yoonbin is four years older than him and knows a hell of a lot better prevents him from doing so. he just grits his teeth and pats jeongwoo on the knee. 

“you hear that?” 

jeongwoo nods, closing his eyes a little longer than he normally would. 

“yeah.”  
“when we get home?” he presses and jeongwoo looks at him out of the corner of his eye, calculating. 

“you have to glamour me, you know.” there’s an edge to jeongwoo’s voice that haruto’s never heard before, hardened, distant. 

“i know?”

“thought you didn’t like it?” there’s something taunting in his voice now, and haruto shifts in his seat. jeongwoo flinches when their thighs press momentarily together. 

“what’s wrong?”

“nothing,” jeongwoo snaps and turns his head to look out the window.

 

yedam’s sat up now, him and doyoung wearing matching looks of confusion. haruto and jeongwoo have never fought, mainly because they never seem to get tired of each other and they’ve been fine all day, the usual playing about, giggling, messing around. haruto tucks a hand into the crook of jeongwoo’s elbow, leaning forward so he can whisper to him without the others hearing. 

“have i done something?” he murmurs, and he feels jeongwoo tense under him and then relax again. 

“no,” jeongwoo says, but he won’t look at him, “just tired.” 

there’s something else, it’s so obvious that even without the bond and the closeness he would know but there’s also something telling him he shouldn’t push just yet. when they arrive back at the dorms, jeongwoo’s shoulders are still tense, still squared up but he sticks close to haruto regardless, the way he always does. haruto reaches out for him and jeongwoo lets him wrap their fingers together, tug him a little closer.

 

there’s an odd atmosphere in their room when they enter, both of them dropping their bags at the foot of their beds. jeongwoo stands there, shoulders heaving and there’s definitely not enough stairs up to their dorm to make him this breathless. 

“jeongwoo-yah, what is it?”

jeongwoo sinks down onto his bed, lets his head drop into his hands. outside, the rain starts pouring. 

“just come here, haru.” he doesn’t lift his head up, even when haruto sits down next to him. 

there’s a brief moment of stillness before jeongwoo is swinging his leg over haruto’s lap. haruto has absolutely no idea what to do with his hands.

‘w-what are you doing?”

jeongwoo just sighs again, hands digging into haruto’s shoulders, suddenly bashful at his bold move. 

“bite me,” he says, “we’ll talk afterwards.”

“jeongwoo…i don’t know.”

the younger tips his head to the side, and the orange light from the streetlamp outside lights his skin up to caramel. 

“promise you’ll talk to me?” haruto presses and jeongwoo rolls his eyes but nods, barely there. haruto closes his eyes, focuses on jeongwoo’s weight in his lap, their chests bumping when he breathes and when he opens his eyes, they glow red. jeongwoo melts easily, eyes going distant and haruto leans forward, nosing at the protruding tendon of jeongwoo’s neck. he brings a hand up to press against jeongwoo’s back, feeling muscle and bone and flesh. jeongwoo tightens his grip when haruto bites, being careful to be gentle, not too deep or too quick. he does it like yoonbin told him, with intervals, pulling away every so often to glamour jeongwoo a little more, making sure to drink no more than half a pint.

 

he leans away for good and jeongwoo’s eyes look a little _too_ glassy. haruto has no idea whether or not you can glamour someone too much but the way jeongwoo’s staring down at him makes him think _definitely_. he watches as jeongwoo’s eyes flutter closed, long lashes against his cheeks and everything is warm and comfortable. jeongwoo leans forward and tips their foreheads together, slowly, gently, and it hurts haruto more than he thought it would. his heart’s in his throat and there’s a second where haruto might let jeongwoo kiss him, and then that second passes and he’s tucking his hands under jeongwoo’s ribs, lifting him off of his lap and onto the bed. looking at him makes it feel like he’s choking and there’s absolutely no respite from him because jeongwoo’s falling back into him, chin on his shoulder, gazing up.

“i like you so much, haru,” he says. 

haruto turns away from him, aching serendipity. 

“it’s just the glamour,” he practically spits out, jeongwoo’s hair tickling the underside of his jaw. 

“no,” he says distantly, “even before…all this. i liked you.” 

when haruto doesn’t answer, jeongwoo huffs and lies down on his side, facing away from him. 

“do you regret it?”

haruto lies down next to him, stares at the hair on the nape of jeongwoo’s neck. he could reach out and touch him now. he doesn’t and they both just lie there, on top of the covers, still in their jeans. almost touching. not quite.

“regret what?” he’s speaking to the darkness now, the streetlight having flickered off. it’s still raining. 

“bonding.”

“no.” it’s easy to be honest in the dark, “i was gonna ask you to do it at some point anyway.”

jeongwoo’s breath catches, and he reaches back, hand scrabbling around for haruto’s own. when he finds it, he clings on and tugs him forward until they’re pressed together, back to chest. there is a ferocity to it, and haruto wants to curl into him and lie there forever. outside, the rain gets louder and the streetlight blinks back into existence. neither of them sleep for a long time. home is five hundred and eighty seven miles and a plane ride away but when he counts jeongwoo’s breaths, even, the distance is reduced to inches. 

“i like you,” he says, “not just because you let me suck your blood when i was dying.” 

at some point, the storm passes.

 

 

_vii. they looked at each other at last, murmuring names that were a spell._

 

(jeongwoo is still there when he wakes up, although he’s manoeuvred himself around in the night, their hands no longer touching. haruto doesn’t watch him, just sighs and heaves himself up, patting a hand through his fluffy hair. junkyu and mashiho are on either end of the sofa, both of them half asleep.

“you and jeongwoo make up?” junkyu asks without even looking up from his phone. 

haruto thinks about jeongwoo’s grip on his hand, tight and sure, love so clear he sees when he closes his eyes. 

“yeah, hyung.”) 

 

“i heard you last night,” jeongwoo tells him the second he walks into their room. 

there’s a brief moment of panic and haruto can see it reflected in jeongwoo, too, even though he’s doing a good job at feigning nonchalance. 

“oh,” he says, for lack of better words. he wants to back right out of the room and shut the door, leave jeongwoo wondering.

“did you mean it?” the younger asks, suddenly bashful. 

“did you?” he counters. 

jeongwoo looks up at him for the first time since last night. 

“yes. i know you thought i didn’t because of…the glamour…or whatever.”

“since when?”

jeongwoo stands up, although he makes no attempt to cross the room to get to haruto.

“i don’t know. the ‘oh yeah’ stage, maybe.”

haruto finds himself smiling, full grin. 

“good,” he says, “because i’ve liked you a lot longer than that.”

“yeah?”

he nods a confirmation and then approaches jeongwoo, palms out, upwards, giving. 

jeongwoo looks up at him, eyes laughing through the lenses of his glasses. 

“i like you,” he says again, just because he can, just because he likes the way jeongwoo looks when he says it, like he’s made of stardust and love and nothing else. 

they meet in the middle, and jeongwoo tugs him forward until they’re hugging, palms against his shoulder blades, cheek against his shoulder. 

“can’t believe you’re that oblivious,” jeongwoo laughs, shifting in his arms to fit a little closer, “d’you think i would have let you drink my blood if i didn’t like you?”

“you’re a good friend!” haruto replies, then shakes his head at the absurdity, “i don’t know.”

_what is love but a battlefield?_

“a good _friend_?” jeongwoo asks, then he’s tugging him backwards and pressing his lips, briefly, bashfully against haruto’s own. if they were a colour, haruto thinks they’d all be golden.

 

 

_viii. if you’re in love, it ought to make you happy. you ought to laugh._

 

“do you love me?” haruto asks, even though he already knows the answer. he’s got his head pillowed on jeongwoo’s thigh, and jeongwoo’s got his hand tangled in his hair. 

“what kind of question is that?” the younger asks, but he’s smiling, wide and unrestrained, just how haruto likes it. 

“one i like the answer to,” he replies. 

“then yes,” jeongwoo practically mouths, it’s so quiet, “i love you.” 

haruto props himself up on his elbows. 

“alright,” he breathes.

“alright.”

 

jeongwoo’s eyes are celestial, and there is nowhere to go in this endless expanse of universe except forward. there are very few certain things in haruto’s life, and, because of this, there are plenty of reasons _not_ to kiss jeongwoo except that he loves him, and he’s leaning in, and his mother always used to tell him not to leave a good thing waiting. 

( _you’ve got forever, after all)_

 

 

_ix. find somebody and love him and love him and never let him go._

**Author's Note:**

> hi! so you made it all the way through lmao. this isn't proof read so there's probably some bigass mistakes but i don't have the time or energy to fix it im sorry lol. to be honest, this fic caused me a lot of stress - my exams are coming up in may and i REALLY have to start revising but for some reason i couldn't seem to get the idea of whipped!vampire haru and so...8000 words later this happened lol. i guess it's tradition for me to write a massive fic before beginning intensive revision for exams since i've done it the past couple years and it always helps me to become less restless so?? let's get this bread i guess. ANYWAY, i really hope y'all enjoyed this, it was super fun to write and work around the idea of haru being whipped because i can't , for the life of me, work out whether he's a tsundere or really expressive??? ALSO it's canon that yoonbin and jihoon are vampire boyfriends taking on the world. i thought at some points they were becoming too much of a plot point but i really wanted them in there to make haru and woo question their own relationship and their own bond?? for me, they're like future haru and jeongwoo (also i really love the couple they're really the cutest best friends). 
> 
> so that's it! probably be back in like six months or something like i usually am. anyone else doing exams, big good luck ur gonna smash it!! thanks 4 reading <3


End file.
